A brilliant way to start the year: Ensemble 1604 is performing the full show of Shadows That in Darkness Dwell at the University of Edinburgh’s Reid Hall on 16 January. Click here and have a listen to get a taste of what awaits you if you come along.
Scots Baroque will perform at the University of Aberdeen on this year’s St Cecilia’s Day! A varied programme coming up, and a particularly exciting aspect of the performance will be to hear our own Lucia Capellaro play on Scotland’s oldest surviving cello, kindly loaned by the special collections of the University to her.
I look forward to perform alongside countertenor Meili Li and Dunedin Consort as part of this year’s Curious festival, organised by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The programme will include Vivaldi, Handel, and Scarlatti, and the event will take place in the lovely St Cecilia’s Hall on 3 September. Do come along if you happen to be free!
It will be absolutely fantastic to be part of the inaugural Glasgow Barons Early Music Festival. This is the first festival of this sort that Glasgow has seen in over 30 years. I will play with lutenist Alex McCartney, and our programme is titled Searching for Their Voice, featuring experimental music from the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
It is lovely to have a little article about Ensemble 1604’s debut album, Shadows That in Darkness Dwell, featured in this spring’s edition of The Recorder Magazine. You can purchase a copy of the magazine via Peacock Press. The writing intends to provide you some intriguing background on the project, which will hopefully inspire you to have a listen to the album.
After a few years, I am happy to return to the French Institute of Scotland’s international harpsichord festival which will take place in Edinburgh. I will play 17th-century Italian music with the wonderful Jan Waterfield on harpsichord. Do look up the festival to find out further details, and to see its overall rich and varied programme.
I am really happy to have the chance to contribute to a wonderful recording in the making: the debut album of the incredibly talented Nardus Williams with Dunedin Consort. The disc will feature some great Handel cantatas – watch out for the release on Linn Records later in the year.
Ensemble 1604 will play two performances as part of the hugely exciting and ambitious The Night With… Festival, which is the brainchild of composer Matthew Whiteside, and in total, it will feature 15 concerts, with 12 premieres over 60 works, and more than 80 performers over 2 days. In our first performance we will play Terry Riley’s In C, whereas our second one will feature the full length show of our recently released debut album, Shadows That in Darkness Dwell.
Ensemble 1604’s debut album is out now! It is titled Shadows That in Darkness Dwell and it features five new electroacoustic works by composer Timothy Cooper, which take inspiration from, rework, respond to, and further explore the music of John Dowland, as well as poetry, thought, and performance techniques that were prevalent during the time he was alive. The album is the result of a hugely rewarding collaborative journey – I hope you will find it exciting to dive into this unique sound-world. Available on all major streaming platforms, or click here to order a physical copy.
It will be wonderful to play again a beautiful JS Bach programme with Dunedin Consort, featuring rising star countertenor Hugh Cutting, and directed by the one and only Peter Whelan. Catch us in St-Martin-in-the-Fields (London) or Musselburgh!